The spider mite is sweeet!!
Would it run off an ESC's BEC?
I would love to try one!
Maybe pick up a CX-161 at the same time.
I'm still looking for a CX-171.
I called Rock 2000 but only reached an answering
machine. So far they haven't returned my call.
-Dave

Just for the record, the rx that comes with the spidermite has a built in, non-replaceable antenna of a pcb/dipole design. So far it appears to be less directional that the patches on my 100mw system, and as such has been more prone to multipath interference when operated in a dense urban environment.

Part of what I want to accomplish before I go into a full Beta is determining the best installation options for the system and best orientation of the receiver antenna to get the best results. This would save the Beta testers a lot of tweaking.

Blue Sky, so far I have been running the units on the battery side of the esc (direct connection to the battery). I hesitate to say it is ok to plug into the receiver to get voltage from the bec, since I still need to do some current measurements on the system. I am also nervous about the idea, just on principle.

Imagine putting the system on your hand-launch glider, with a tail-facing camera? Would make for some gnarly launch videos

I'm slowly tweaking the setup for the spidermite, I got a little flying in yesterday. Multipath interference is a way of life with this sort of equipment, so my ultimate goal is to get at least 15 seconds of perfect video before each 'hit'... this allows for enough stock footage to edit together a nice video.

Anyway to put the antenna further away from all the electricals (i.e. remote mounting)? In the spidermite picture on your Web site, the antenna appears to be rigged to the case. If you could get the antenna away from the TX and the airplanes electronics, maybe that'd help?

Calvin.

EDIT:

Oops, nevermind Bill. I just re-read a previous post from you where you identify the cause of the interference (the reciever). Okay, to rephrase the question, anyway to hack on a better antenna to the reciever?

Originally posted by dck47 anyway to hack on a better antenna to the reciever?

Funny you should ask

I just finished hacking apart one of the recievers... and I do mean hack, as they glue the plastic case shut! The integrated antenna is a pcb dipole... pretty elegant design actually. I cut the antenna off (which involved cutting about 2 inches of the pcb board off) and soldered on one of the patch antennas that I normally build for my 100mw RTF system.

A desk run showed that it still receives video

The real question is how it performs in the real world... my hope is that they matched their original antenna to 50ohm, so the hacked on patch won't cause any impedance issues (and therefore reduced range)

Hmmm....
Might it be possible to mount the entire receiver, dipole and all
against a reflector (flat piece of metal or screen or perhaps a corner refector of said materials) to increase gain and make the
whole shebang more directional? It could be the easiest hack.
-Dave

Originally posted by dck47
Doesn't multi-path interference usually occur due to shielding/filtering issues? Or is it one of those echo-type things?

It is more the second one... an echo-type thing.

Signals that bounce from surrounding objects interact with the signal from the plane when they reach the antenna, and cancel or corrupt each other.

Generally, you have a perfect video puncuated by complete static for a quarter of a second or so, followed by perfect video again.

Depending on the antennas and the environment, the lost video can go on for longer, which of course makes it hairy when trying to fly under the hood!

As it is designed, the receiver included with the spidermite is very well designed for fixed installations. We just have to figure out how to make it work well in our mobile application, which could mean anything from constantly pointing the receiver antenna at the plane, to replacing the antenna with a patch. We'll see where we end up!

Bill

EDIT: Just saw your post Blue Sky. That is an extremely good idea. The antenna element inside the receiver would be a good match for a corner reflector. One more experiment to try!

Check out www.camera-shack.com for all type of wireless video transmitters, board cameras (incl PAL format) Also the correct components to fabricate wiring harness for those small molex wafer connectors. 1.25mm and 1.5mm pitch. Transmitters from 10mW to 1Watt.

I build and fly helis and just got done with a humming bird electric with wireless video downlink. BUT I'm experiencing interference from the electric motor when powered from the fligh battery. I need someone experienced to help solve the inteference problem but it flys and the whole system only weight about 3/4 ounce. If anyone can help please contact me anytime